Connectors for electrical components are used in a variety of end-use applications. For example, in the automotive industry, connectors are employed at numerous locations in automobiles so as to positionally mount electrical components such as wedge-based miniature lamp bulbs, fuses and the like, as well as to connect such components electrically with the automobile's electrical system.
One prior connector which is employed to mount wedge-based lamp bulbs is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 53-1825. According to this prior structure, miniature automobile lamps are equipped with a housing, a lens covering an opening in the housing and a holder attached to the housing for supporting a wedge-base bulb. The holder itself includes a body member which is formed by bending a conductive metal strip into a general U-shape, and includes an integral attachment piece which extends in a direction opposite to the U-shaped metal strip. A center piece and opposed right and left side pieces are provided at a location in relation to a concave engagement portion of the holder body such that the side pieces protrude from the top and bottom of such concave engagement portion. The U-shaped conductive metal strip is thus clamped between the center piece and the opposed right and left side pieces by insertion into the concave engagement portion. In such a state, the attachment piece of the holder body is fixed in the housing together with an electrically conductive strip for connection to the electrical power supply.
One problem attendant with the prior connector structure discussed above is that the friction fit between the wedge-base bulb and its electrical contacts may become loose due to thermal deformation of the bulb holder by virtue of the heat generated by the lamp during use. While the holder could be formed of a heat-resistant plastics material and/or a large interior housing could be employed in order to counteract such a problem, neither is a satisfactory solution. In this regard, heat-resistant plastics materials tend to be expensive and are not readily moldable, thereby resulting in increased costs. A large interior housing, on the other hand, unnecessarily increases the size of the connector.
Furthermore, the prior connector structure discussed above is relatively complex and requires post-assembly procedures such as caulking. As a result, the connector is not readily assembled completely by automated processing techniques (e.g., robotics assembly).
What has been needed, therefore, is a reliable and inexpensive heat-resistant structure for attaching electrical components such as wedge-based bulbs, fuses and the like to a non-heat-resistant substrate member by means of a heat-resistant holder so as to facilitate assembly of the connector to the substrate member by automated techniques. It is towards providing such a connector that the present invention is directed.